The Sand Pebbles

By: Richard McKenna

Narrated by: Rick Adamson

The critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller and the basis for the Academy Award- and Golden Globe-nominated film starring Steve McQueen.

As a spirit of nationalism inspired by Chiang Kai-shek's leadership begins to sweep through China, the river gunship San Pablo is ordered to patrol the region and to protect US citizens. Jack Holman is a machinist aboard the San Pablo, who has joined the navy in order to avoid jail time. Because he is so fiercely independent, Jake remains a relative loner and is uncomfortable with navy protocol and discipline.

Holman's independent mind chafes against military hierarchy and also ensures that he does not share his shipmates' disdain for the Chinese. Instead, Holman is fascinated with the culture and the people that surround him and develops emotional bonds that prove quite thorny when the circumstances become more tumultuous and more dire.

The perspective of The Sand Pebbles is therefore both panoramic as well as personal. Like Lawrence of Arabia, the tension explored here is between the self as individual against the broader spectrum of social and historical forces against which we are all measured.

©1962 Richard McKenna (P)2022 Tantor

Excellent

I read the book several years ago and have watched the film multiple times. Glad to see it made it to audiobook.

A Tale of People and Nations

A very well read story of a group of people who are caught up in amidst the throes of revolution. The characters are well illustrated and the author really captures the feel of China and the men and machines that made up the brown water navy.

The level of detail is breathtaking and if you like engineering it is a real deep dive into steam power and how a steam ship functions. I found it all very engaging and a great listen.

great story.

I have read/listen to the book and watched the movie 10x. One of my all time favorites. I will probably do it all again.

Good Story

The narrative dragged a bit in the middle but it was well done and I enjoyed it overall.

Better Than The Great Movie

I would rate this with The Hunters as a great American military novel. The performance is excellent